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Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 11, 2002

Coffee machines, bread, teas . . . whatever next?

Marcel Niederhauser is one happy businessman. In the lobby of Tokyo's Hilton Hotel in Shinjuku, visiting the small shop he opened with a Japanese partner just two weeks ago, he learns that the first day of Golden Week has been a bonanza. "We moved some 120 packs of tea. We're very, very happy with the...
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

Forex reserves hit $406.7 billion

Japan's foreign exchange reserves at the end of April were up $5.18 billion from a month earlier to a record $406.7 billion, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 9, 2002

Half-Japanese Dodger making name in L.A.

CHICAGO -- Want to stump your know-it-all boss or neighbor with a good baseball question?
BUSINESS
May 9, 2002

Sales of imported car sales expand 3.4%

Sales of imported cars in Japan rose 3.4 percent in April compared to the same month the previous year.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
May 9, 2002

Prime greenery in the making

Lying between Kyoto and Nara, Uji City straddles the Uji River, a tributary of the Yodogawa. This same river also drains Lake Biwa, Japan's largest freshwater lake, though upstream -- where it passes through Shiga Prefecture -- its name is Etagawa.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 9, 2002

Crafting public opinion to fit fisheries policy

Kind and gentle reader, I have a confession to make that may shock you. It is necessary to tell you this because, unlike many politicians and bureaucrats, I believe truth and transparency are essential. So here it is: I have eaten whale.
COMMENTARY
May 8, 2002

World Cup could be a step toward peace on peninsula

LOS ANGELES -- Peace on the strategically vital Korean Peninsula still has a long way to go, but we may be getting there, step by halting step.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2002

Smiling Koizumi guarded on free trade

SYDNEY -- All sweetness and light, plus a dash of pay dirt. That about sums up the three-day foray into Australia by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. A free-trade agreement, or FTA, got no further than free-talking. A security protocol including the United States as a third party came a few...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 5, 2002

Naturalized entrepreneur jumps conservative obstacles

It's bad enough for a would-be entrepreneur that Japan is suffering a protracted economic slump and the country is bound -- still -- by archaic business practices.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 5, 2002

Death and the old maid

"Tokyo Friend Park II" (TBS, Monday, 6:55 p.m.), hosted by veteran announcer Hiroshi Sekiguchi, is a prime example of the mindless, pointless game-show genre. The main idea is to match up two complementary celebrities who will work together to win prizes for themselves and selected viewers. Because the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
May 5, 2002

Vineyards of New World beckon in warm weather

Only a decade ago, adventure and good value were tough to find in Japan's wine market. Wine lovers traded news of secret finds. We carried treasured bottles back from trips overseas. We called up buddies and huddled together to relish the long-saved treat of a wine unavailable in Japan. The rituals bore...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 5, 2002

Memories are made of this

TOKYO CENTRAL: A Memoir, by Edward Seidensticker. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2002, 256 pp. with b/w photographs, XXXVI. $30 (cloth) Translator extraordinaire, historian and beloved pedagogue, Edward Seidensticker has given us the definitive English versions of "The Tale of Genji" and the...
COMMUNITY
May 5, 2002

A plastic menagerie for kids of all ages

"Instead of only children, we started to think about what we could sell to people in their 30s, 40s or 50s."
Japan Times
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
May 4, 2002

Shibuya museum links tobacco, salt past and present in curious harmony

To the uninitiated, the combination of tobacco and salt in a museum is a curious one.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
May 3, 2002

When one-size-fits-all schooling doesn't fit

There's a boy in our building who doesn't go to school. Ever. Nine-year-old Kenji missed 40 days of school last year, then refused to go back at all after the spring break. He says that he "can't breathe" at school and that his stomach hurts whenever he's in the building.
JAPAN
May 2, 2002

South Koreans in Osaka plan culture workshop

OSAKA -- A group of young South Korean residents in Japan will launch a three-day performing arts workshop here Friday in a bid to increase awareness throughout the local community of traditional South Korean culture.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
May 2, 2002

The life and times of a Manchurian girl

NEW YORK -- The New York Times' recent reprinting of a cartoon showing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat gagged and bound to a chair while Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon presses him to "say something! do something!" made me think of Rikoran, known today mainly as Yoshiko Yamaguchi.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 1, 2002

Tracking systems try to tackle food safety

Shoppers are now being invited to check with their own eyes that what something is labeled is what they actually eat.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2002

Inventors advised to take out patents

Amid the prolonged recession, more people are trying their hand at inventing in the hope of making a fast fortune.
COMMENTARY
Apr 30, 2002

How long will Koizumi last?

LONDON -- Voter disillusionment with Junichiro Koizumi's performance as prime minister has grown from an apparent lack of progress in clearing up bad bank loans, his inability to force through privatization of public corporations, limited action on deregulation and his failure to reform the Liberal Democratic...
EDITORIALS
Apr 29, 2002

The importance of conserving forests

Forests play a vital role in preventing global warming and building sustainable societies. So the need to protect and develop them can never be stressed enough. Japan's substantial forests make it a notable example. In brief, that is the message of the government report on forests and forestry released...
SOCCER / World cup / EXCERPTS FROM PHILIPPE TROUSSIER'S BOOK
Apr 29, 2002

The national team should take priority

"Passion'' is the story of Japan soccer team coach Philippe Troussier, his struggle to make it as a player and manager and his travels around France, Africa and Japan. In the book, Troussier also details his philosophy and thinking as he prepares for the World Cup in June. In this, the seventh of 10...
MORE SPORTS
Apr 29, 2002

When in Latvia, bring your own doctor

Ryan Kuwabara is a key member of Japan's national ice hockey team currently playing at the Pool A World Championships in Sweden. Kuwabara, a Japanese-Canadian who was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens and now stars for Japan Ice Hockey League champion Kokudo, has agreed once again to keep a journal chronicling...

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years